For this installment of the somewhat weekly review, I have an album I have been waiting for from one of my favorite bands. Trivium has dropped In The Court of the Dragon.
I'll start by saying that without a doubt this album, and every pounding second of it, is awesome. Last Year's What Dead Men Say was my favorite album of 2020, and one of the first records I've ever ordered vinyl for, and Trivium is in the running to repeat this year.
While X isn't quite the same epic intro that IX was, it sets the mood, and the title track takes it away. Then Sword of Damocles, Feast of Fire, and A Crisis of Revelation keep the aggression going while delivering soaring catchy choruses. That's when we hit the good part.
The 7 minute epic, The Shadow of the Abattior, presents us with a ballad that drops into a trademark Trivium chorus; then it completes it's journey with a really heavy middle section that brings the chorus back. This song is one of the biggest highlights along with the closer, and feels like it's own record by itself. Album closer, The Phalanx, ends us off with some of the most epic music the band has ever played.
No Way Back Just Through gives a strong metal core vibe that'll remind fans of the In Waves album. Fall Into Your Hands is another impressive epic. From Dawn to Decadence is by no means a footnote either. Every song on the record is impressive. If there was vinyl available for In The Court of The Dragon, I would have ordered it already.